Be My Little Bunny
by Luvdarain5
Summary: Usagi’s having a panic attack though their wedding is months off.  She runs to Mamoru for comfort, causing them to reflect on how much his Usako had changed and yes, grown up.   Poignant oneshot AU.   Hmm, fair amount of kissing and sappiness too.


Be My Little Bunny

A/N-I do not own Sailor Moon-but yeah-story idea is all mine:)

Also, I have NOT abandoned my other stories, I swear I'm working on them! But these little short one shots help me work through my writers block on the longer ones.

xoxoxo

As Mamoru waited in the park on 'their' bench for his fiancé to show, he slowly drew in a deep breath and enjoyed the evening chill in the air. Fall was getting closer, and he liked the scents and sounds that hovered around the edges of his consciousness. It was a great time to be alive, he mused with a thoughtful smile.

At twenty-five, he had long since passed his schoolboy days, and thankfully his college years were behind him as well. He was getting his career underway, but it was slow going. His original dream of being a doctor had morphed into something more real; running a business, being responsible for the company his parents had left behind. And he found immense satisfaction in what he did, knowing that he was sharing something with his father, though Chiba Sr. was no longer alive. It gave him a sense of family and pride.

He heard a familiar soft feminine voice and glanced down the path to see his beautiful blond heading towards him, talking on her cell. She waved as she saw him, moving slowly and concentrating more on the conversation than on him.

Mamoru couldn't help but notice how much she had changed in the time they had known one another. She was tall now, though not as tall as he, and her rounded face had smoothed into a woman's delicate features, though her luminescent eyes hadn't changed.

Her hair was long, almost to her waist and she wore it down just for him. It was a wonderfully curious mixture of curls mixed with straight lengths, and he knew from personal experience that it smelled like fresh cut strawberries and felt like satin silk.

She was wearing a tan skirt that went past her knees and a white top and matching tan jacket. So professional looking, he thought with a grin. His Usako had changed so much from when they had met all those years ago. She was gentle, serene and patient; traits her younger self hadn't possessed.

As she came closer to him, he could hear snippets of the conversation now. "Makoto, I know what he said but I honestly don't think he meant anything by it." She counseled gently. She listened then tried again. "But that doesn't mean he thinks you look fat, it means he likes your curves-that's all." Usagi walked up to Mamoru, still listening to her friend. Sprawled out on the bench, he parted his jean-clad legs, and she came to stand between his knees, covering up her phone and leaning down to kiss him in greeting.

"Hi." She said in that amazingly sweet voice of hers. Her smile was a thousand watts at least.

"Hi yourself." He said deeply, reaching out to hold her in place while he gave her a second, more intimate kiss that rendered her breathless.

"Uh, what?" She asked in confusion, moving her hand from the mouthpiece of her cell to speak to Makoto who was still talking. Apparently his kiss had also made her loose her train of thought. He grinned smugly.

She swiped at him gently as she sat down next to him on the bench, trying to wrap up her conversation with Makoto. "I really don't think that's enough reason to call off the wedding sweetie," She informed her friend. "Call Neph back and make him grovel." She recommended, as she was pulled close into Mamoru's warmth. He tucked her into his side, inhaling that lovely scent that was hers alone.

"Ok, I have to go. No I really do, sorry Makoto." She began, only to be cut off by wailing.

How the tables have turned, Mamoru couldn't help but think. In the old days it was his Usa who's high-pitched cries had been the bane of her friend's existence. Now the shoe was on the other foot, thoroughly.

Finally Usagi was able to end the call, but not before promising to call back in an hour or so to check in.

Tucking the phone into her small purse with the thin strap slung over her shoulder, she turned to Mamoru and gave him a pleading look. She didn't have to say a word for him to know what she wanted. His left arm that had been lying across the back of the bench reached over to hook around her waist, tucking her further into his right side so that he enveloped her completely.

And then he kissed her like there was no tomorrow. Passionately he delved into her mouth, possessing her trembling mouth hungrily.

He released her a few moments later, their lips clinging lightly so that with a groan he had to move back in to kiss her once more before breaking apart. He couldn't help the grin at her shocked gasps as he studied her through hooded eyes.

"Guess I still have the power to take your breath away after all these years." He commented but despite the arrogance of his words, his thumb was gentle as he stroked her downy cheek, gently tracing the curve of her pink mouth.

Instead of being incensed as she might have in the past, she reached up to tug the collar of his jacket, pulling him back down to her. "More." She croaked, before covering his mouth with her own.

Where he was slow and languid with his kisses, she was urgent and demanding of his attentions. The two had learned over time that the differences between them that had caused so many arguments in the early years of their relationship were now the strengthens that bound them even more tightly together.

He knew how to read her body now, knew when she needed their lovemaking to be quick and powerful, or when he could slow her down, gentling her with long smooth strokes that drove them both mad with desire.

She was telling him now, without words that she needed something from him; by the way she grabbed fistfuls of his coat, keeping him close to her. The way she was kissing him so amorously in public when she was usually shy about that sort of thing. And of course the fact that she had called him out of the blue on a Tuesday evening asking him to meet her though they'd had no plans to do so, and had just spent the entire week end together.

He pulled back, creating a little space between them so they could see one another but not to where the world could intrude on them. Huddled in their own little world.

"Everything ok?" He asked, holding onto her hand, stroking the pulse at her wrist. She was leaning her head back on his right arm, her hair pooling around them as she looked up into his eyes, trying to act as though there was nothing out of the ordinary for her to call and ask him to meet her at seven at night for no good reason. Another thing that had changed. In the past, in the first year or so when they dated, she had often done this sort of thing, calling to ask to meet him out of the blue, mostly because she was unsure of their relationship or of him.

She blushed a faint pink, the delicate color staining her cheeks and he was intrigued by it. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen her act shy. Probably when they had first began to explore a more intimate relationship. As he recalled there was a lot of blushing for the both of them.

"Everything's fine. I just…just wanted to see you." She said a bit evasively. Her eyes darted down to his mouth and she leaned up a bit to kiss him again, but he pulled further back, not allowing her contact.

"What else bunny." He wanted to know, sure there was more. When she only shrugged, leaning back into his embrace, he thought over what could be bothering her. "Is it Makoto?" He asked. If Makoto wasn't the problem, she certainly was at least a partial factor.

She shrugged again. "Just…things…" She evaded.

"Baby I told you that being Makoto's maid of honor and trying to plan your own wedding was going to be too much." He chided gently. "You're gonna wear yourself out."

"It's not that." She said, reaching up a hand to stroke his chest through the cotton jersey he wore. Usagi looked up at him adoringly. "You look good in this. Rugged." She complimented him. In his jeans, brown jersey shirt and mountain boots and a fleece jacket he looked like he was ready for to go hiking or climbing.

"Thanks." He said, brushing a kiss on her forehead. "Now stop stalling and tell me what's bothering you, love."

She turned her head into his neck, getting as close to him as possible before she mumbled something into the column of his throat.

"Usako…" He growled, growing tired of her refusal to straight out tell him.

Usagi sighed and then pulled back, sitting up straight, distancing herself from him a little. "It's nothing." He huffed impatiently, clearly not believing her. But when she glanced up into his loving, patient eyes despite his annoyance she found herself confessing the truth. "Oh Mamoru-it's nothing and it's everything! Makoto's driving me nuts! Neph's driving me nuts! My best friends whom I love dearly are driving me nuts! Always asking 'what do I think about this pattern' and 'what songs should we pick for their first dance' and just ridiculous questions that go on and on! It's not even _my_ wedding!"

Now that she had begun, she couldn't seem to stop, her shoulders slumping and holding her head in her hands. Mamoru rubbed her back comfortingly as she continued. "And my mom, I love her to death, you know I do, but if she asks me one more time when we're going to pick _our_ guest list or go register for gifts, I'm just going to scream!"

"Ah…" He was beginning to see it now, beginning to understand why she called, but he remained silent, letting her get it all out.

"And the kids-those wonderful little first graders of mine were asking me all these questions, innocent questions but they were just so insistent and they just wouldn't stop!" She was panting now, short of breath as her temper began to give way to anxiety, her voice steadily getting higher as she spoke.

"Usako…it's ok…" He murmured, pulling her close. She rested for a minute against him before pulling away.

"It's not ok! Do you know that Makoto's and Neph's wedding is only three weeks away, and our wedding is only eight months-EIGHT MONTHS away!" She was beginning to hyperventilate now, trying to gulp down air.

She was babbling, beginning to get more upset, and tears threatened, crystallizing on her lashes. She took a deep breath; ready to tell him they should just elope, or better yet call the whole thing off, when his deep firm voice cut across her tirade.

"That's _enough_ Usako." He said sternly. She shut her mouth in shock, staring up at him mutely. The last thing she expected was for him to cut her off. She opened her mouth again, ready to blast him, when he shook his head emphatically. "Usa! Enough!"

She let out a squeak; sure the tears would come now, and quickly clamped her hands over her mouth, looking away. As she dragged in ragged breaths through her nose, she thought that nothing changed. He was an insensitive jerk, same as he had always been, and why did she even love this guy anyway?

They sat in silence, her pain aching in her chest, Mamoru just sitting by her side, not touching her any longer. After some time passed, and quiet reined, she began to calm down, and her hurt began to fade. She was being childish, she really was. All the stress of her life had just sort of avalanched on her and she had panicked, needing to get away from everything that was happening, needing a moment of calm, and the first person she had thought of was him.

And all she had managed to do was piss him off.

Usagi gave a watery sniffle, and scooted over just a little bit closer to Mamoru. Without looking up at him, she gave a little laugh and picked at the edge of her jacket with pretty pink fingernails. "Bet you're wondering when I'm going to grow up, aren't you?" She asked, and her voice was calmer now. "Bet you keep thinking; 'Any day now Usako!'" She nodded her head as if agreeing with him, though he hadn't said anything.

"Actually," He said in a low voice. "I was just thinking the opposite. In fact, while I was sitting here waiting for you, I was reflecting on how much you've grown; changed." He turned his head, slanting one of his killer looks-the ones that were sincere and intense and just made her melt.

"Oh." She blushed, feeling really stupid now. "Guess my little 'episode' made you rethink that." She grimaced, looking away. Her day had been stressful and crappy, and all she could think of was to see Mamoru, just to be with him would make it better. To be able to vent all her frustration. But now she was close to tears she thought this was the worst thing of all. She had disappointed her beloved, had let him down. Usagi felt tears gathering again, and this time they were the real thing.

"Usako." He spoke quietly, wanting her to look at him. "Bunny." He said, almost a plea in his voice. She turned to look at him, and a tear fell. "Oh baby…" He said in a sad voice, gathering her in his arms, ignoring her protest.

"I'm so sorry Mamoru, so so sorry!" She chanted through her tears. He rubbed her back, whispered words of love, and waited for the storm to pass as she cried in his arms. Eventually she began to calm down, and this time, she stayed calm. Leaning back in his embrace, seated on his lap in the chilly evening air, she stared up at him, worry in her eyes. "Sweetie I'm so sorry I let you down. I didn't mean to-"

"Usako hush." He reprimanded her lovingly, and she quieted down. "You haven't let me down. I was a little rough with you because I wanted you to stop getting worked up, you were making yourself so upset." He explained harshly. "I hate to see you like that."

"…Oh…." She answered, feeling worse now because she had been thinking evil thoughts about her Mamoru being a jerk, when the truth was, he was concerned about her. "I feel awful for thinking…" She began in a whisper, when he leaned forward and kissed her into silence.

"I don't think you're childish, and I'm not waiting for you to grow up, because you _are_ grown Usako. You've come so far from that young, impetuous girl to a beautiful, mature woman. The woman that I love, may I remind you." He said, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"But I…" She tried again to apologize but he wouldn't let her.

"Baby, do you know how happy I am that you called me here tonight when you're clearly so upset?" He asked her, his question throwing her off balance.

"You are?" She asked, blinking those big blue eyes at him disconcertedly. "Happy I called, I mean…?"

"Yes. What you're going through is perfectly normal. All brides have pre-wedding jitters, especially considering you're juggling two weddings at once." He smoothed her hair back, tracing a long strand to the end and fingering the tip as thought it were refined gold. "You were having a panic attack." He said matter-of-factly and her eyes widened, as she realized he was right. No wonder he had yelled, she _had_ been working herself up into frenzy! He continued in that beautifully masculine voice of his. "And with everything that was closing in on you, you chose me to come to. You leaned on me, depended on me and I'm humbled that you did."

She looked at him in amazement. "You are?"

"Yeah." He smiled a little, and pulled her tightly to his side again. She fit with him so perfectly. "We've come full circle baby, and our wedding is going to be a celebration of that."

Usagi pulled back a little to look at him, frowning and more than a little confused. "What do you mean?"

"We've finally found the balance in our relationship." He said confidently, but when he saw the look on her face, he went on to clarify. "When we first started dating, you acted like it was such a shock that we were even together. You were jealous of everything and everyone and didn't seem to trust me much." He grinned as she grimaced in embarrassment at the reminder. Kissing her temple he squeezed her shoulder affectionately. They had gotten together because of their physical attraction to one another, but it had been far from a meeting of the minds.

"I'm still leaning on you, still depending on you to make everything better." She said softly, wishing now that she hadn't called him. If he thought she had matured, she wasn't proving herself to him by calling him up to meet her just so she could whine over her frustrations.

"No baby, you're not.' He corrected her gently. "You came to me to lean on my shoulder and cry, not to try to fix your problems for you." He suddenly pulled her onto his lap, uncaring that they were in the middle of the park. "We're equals now Usako. Partners, lovers and best friends. You're not immature and impetuous like you used to be, demanding of all my time and attention to the exclusion of all else. And I'm not that cold, emotionless bastard I was. You taught me how to love, to forgive. And hardest of all, how to let go."

She knew he was thinking of a dark time in their relationship when they had almost broken up for good. Their relationship had gotten serious and fearing their new closeness, he had begun to pull away. Not wanting to care for her too much, afraid he would somehow lose her as he had lost his parents. She'd helped him work through his past, refusing to give up on them. Working though the loss of his parents, and the anger even he hadn't been aware he'd been harboring against them for leaving him, though it hadn't been their choice.

"Oh my love." She murmured, stroking the hard line of his jaw tenderly. "You were never cold and emotionless. You were protecting yourself and your heart as best you knew how."

Reaching up, he grabbed onto her hand, stilling it, gripping it harder than necessary. His intense gaze held hers, and suddenly he crushed her to him in a powerful embrace. "Damn but I love you Usako. _My_ Usako! I can't wait for you to be my wife." He whispered rawly.

And in that moment, she understood what he had been trying to say. They had come so far, been through so much together to arrive at this moment. They really were equals; balanced and whole.

He needed her as much as she needed him. It was an eye opening revelation, one that she'd never realized until this very instant.

She hugged him back, putting as much force into her embrace as she could. "Neither can I, Mamoru." She paused and giggled. "Mamo-chan."

He chuckled, trying to ease the intensity of the moment a little. "You haven't called me that in years." She hadn't made a conscious decision to stop using that nickname. She had just grown out of it somewhere along the way. He was right, she thought to herself now, she had changed and grown. She hadn't even been aware of how much so until tonight.

"My protector." She murmured, raining kisses on his neck since she was closest to the strong column of his throat.

"All yours." He whispered, reaching up to grasp the hair at the nape of her neck so he could pull her back. He captured her mouth with his, and stunned her with a kiss so ferocious with feeling that she was helpless under the onslaught to do anything but open her lips to him and hold on for dear life.

Then she was kissing him in return, becoming aggressive, pushing his back against the bench as she delved deeper and deeper into his mouth, her hands gripping fistfuls of his hair, both lost in the moment.

A tapping on their shoulders had them reluctantly breaking the kiss.

"Mamoru…what?" she asked softly, in that desire drugged voice of hers.

"What the hell?" He demanded almost drunkenly, furious at having been interrupted.

"Evening folks." A stern voice sounded from above them. Looking up, not releasing each other from their tight embrace, they frowned at the sight of a uniformed officer.

And immediately jumped apart guiltily.

"Oh!" Usagi squeaked in surprise.

"Sir." Mamoru addressed him coolly, not exactly thrilled at the intrusion.

"Why don't you two move that sort of activity indoors?" He suggested, his tone softening. Apparently he had noticed the engagement ring on Usagi's finger, and perhaps thought that Mamoru had just proposed and they were celebrating her acceptance.

Usagi looked back up at her beloved Mamoru, taking her cue from him.

"I think that's an excellent idea." He growled to her, and she flashed him a loving grin of agreement before it quickly disappeared.

"But it's a week night." She said worriedly, thinking that if they stayed up all night making love, they'd both be dragging tomorrow, not to mention, she wasn't sure if she had any clothes at his place she could wear to work.

"So?" He challenged, his arms tightening around hers, reminding her of what awaited them if she came home with him tonight.

"But don't you have that meeting with the bank investors tomorrow morning? And I'm meeting Makoto and Rei before work, that is if their wedding's still on-to check out some last minute details with the planner. Mako still hasn't decided on the china pattern she wants for the reception. And I have to get ready for parent/teacher conferences next week and I have so much to do, and I-"

Mamoru interrupted her with a quick kiss, nothing too heavy since the cop was still standing there, waiting for them to move on. "Forget all that grown up stuff. For tonight I just need you to be my little bunny."

Usagi giggled. "Isn't the song called 'Be my little baby?'"

The cop had enough to do without waiting all night on these two. "Alright, both of you move along now." He said brusquely, shooing them with his hands. They got up, holding hands and walking along the path back towards civilization.

"And here you were just saying how much I had grown up. Now you want me to revert back to my childish ways?" She teased.

"Baby, even when we're wrinkled and gray, you'll still be my little Usako." He said, voice full of possessive satisfaction.

"I'm going to hold you to that." She whispered confidently, squeezing his hand tightly and leaning against him lovingly.

She went home with him that night to his apartment, as they both had known she would.

He worshiped her with his body, showing her how much he adored her, reverently showing her how far they had come in their intense relationship and how much more pleasure and satisfaction they had to look forward to in their future together.

And she showered him with her laughter and love, humbling him with the promise that she would _always_ be his little bunny.

xoxoxo

Finito


End file.
